Erik ten Hag did not seek to damn Jadon Sancho during his post-match press conference at the Emirates on Sunday, when responding to a question about why the England man had not been in the Manchester United squad to face Arsenal.
Ten Hag did not throw Sancho under the bus, as some have suggested. But he did not dissemble, either. He said Sancho had not been picked based on the evidence of his performances in training.
Ten Hag was not confrontational or adversarial. He does not do demagoguery or crowd- pleasing.